A cognitive agent is a system which may understand natural language text or speech. The cognitive agent can interpret the natural language text or speech and respond to the incoming natural language text or speech. To respond, the cognitive agent accesses a knowledge base to find suitable responses. Companies may use such cognitive agents to provide support (e.g., information technology support, etc.) for employees of the company.
When a cognitive agent responds to a user, for example, when a user asks a question or requests support, the cognitive agent must have an understanding of the topic related to the question or support. For example, if a user requests support related to performing a process, the cognitive agent must have an understanding of the steps associated with the process. If the cognitive agent has such an understanding, then the cognitive agent can hold a conversation with the user.